Oiltight joint



J. MERCIER OIL TIGHT JOINT Dec. 4, 1945.v

Filed Aug. l5, 1942 estenuante. 4, 194s UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE omrrGn'r JOINT Jean Mercier, New York, N. Y.

Application August 15, 1942, Serial No. 454,943

3 Claims.- (Cl. 285-163) This invention relates to fluid sealing means, and more particularly to a synthetic rubber sealing means which expands when in contact with oil.

A iiuidsealing packing which depends upon pressure on the material to insure sealing has certain dimculties which may not be overcome, i. e., in the case of a cylinder cap which is threaded to a cylinder, a packing material inserted between will not necessarily be evenly compressed. The proximity of the two machine parts may be such that one or two points rather thanallpoints are sealed by the packing material. Likewise, where two machine parts are bolted together, the packing material is unevenly spread `according to the pressure caused by the bolts. The sealing means is as effective as the pressureexerted by all the bolts, whic should be evenly distributed.

An object of the present invention is to provide a fluid sealing packing which expands when in contact with oil.

Another objection is to l rial which when in contact with oil will expand to give a uniform sealing eiect.-

A still furtherolbject is to provide a rubber compound packing which will increase in volume by at least 5% when immersed in oil. Another object of the present invention is to provide a mechanical joint having a packing material which expands when in contact with oil to provide a .iluid tight Joint. I y

A still further object of the fpresent invention is to provide a simplified mechanical joint wherein a slight initial compression of the packing material is all that is required. Other objects and characteristic features of the invention will appear from the following detailed description of one embodiment thereof, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein identical reference numerals are applied to the same parts in the several gures, and in which:

Figure l is a cross sectional view of a cylinder provide a sealing matev ing pressure.

Threadably secured to the cap I is a pipe i4 for supplying or discharging fluidas the case` may be.

In mounting the cap l to the cylinder, as soon as the two grooves 6 and 1 are in alignment, snap ring 5 will contract and enter groove 1. Groove 8 must be deep enough to accommodatethe snap ring. Groove I is only as deep as one-halt the thickness of the snap ring 5 so thata portion of snap ring 5 will be held by groove 8 while the remaining thickness engages groove I. In a third groove 8 in the lateral wall of the cap there is fprovided an annular yband 9 of neoprene large enough toiill the groove completely while contacting the outer face of the wall of cylinder I without appreciable compression. Piston I0 is inserted into the opposite `end of cylinder I, an annular packing device II is also inserted after the piston by sliding over the piston rod. The packing device I I is held in place in similar fashion Iby a snap ring I2 and likewise tightly sealed against -the inner surfaces of the wall of cylinder VI by a. band i3 oi neoprene analogous to band 9. Y This packing device is of the same structure patented in my U. S. Patent No. 2,157,299, issued May 9, 1939.

Cap 4 necessarily must be in a definite position, this is accomplished by placing the locking means in the desired position and then pushing it home until snap ring 5 engages in groove Lr This is one of the important advantages of the present invention. With known sealing devices, locking means are required which permit application of the parts to each other under gradually increas- Thus, for instance, a cap may be screwed on to a. cylinder until thenecessary pressure is ree ",hed. This requires careful designing to obtain a cap which when suiiiciently threaded having a two way actuated piston therein in which the sealing means are 'provided according to the present invention;

Fgure 2 is a cross sectional view ofl another other modication of a mechanical joint and packing means as shown in Figure 1;

Figure 4 shows a still further modiiicationof the mechanical joint and packing means.

In the embodiment of the invention herein disclosed there is provided -a cylinder I. Figure 1. wh'ch has an inlet or outlet port 2. Aiixed to one end of the cylinder I is a cap 4 which in-the preferred form is attached to the vcylinder by means ofa snap ring 5which lits into an annular'recess 6 in the lateral wall of cap l as well as an annular groove 'I in theA lateral wall of the cylinder I.

`and I6 of Figure 2; These washers or other resilient means are provided for the purpose of preventing any displacement of the cap in the direction of arrow a and ot the packing device in the direction of arrow b. Normally, the forces exerted by the liquid under pressure supplied to the cylinder tend to displace cap 4 in the direction of arrow b and packing device il in the direction of arrow a. Accordingly, snap ring 5 will be rmly applied to the right hand wall oi' groove 6'. In the same manner,snap ring I2' will be ilrmly appued to the left-hand wan of the groove m which it is located.I There is, of course, a slight clearance between the lateral walls of the snap rings and the lateral walls of the grooves holding them. Should a force be applied to cap 4' or to packing device I I' in a direction opposite tothat in which the usual forces act, a slight displacement of these elements with respect to cylinder I' might result. 'This slight displacement might disturb the sealing effect of Neoprene bands 8' orA I3'. To prevent any such displacement, washer I5 is provided between cap 4' and the slightly shortened wall of cylinder I and between the same wall and a projection I'I of packing device I I. While the forces normally acting on cap 4' and packing device I I may be considerable, the forces exceptionally 'acting in an opposite direction will be small. Consequently, the elastic resistance of the said resilient means will be suiiicient to prevent any displacement of cap or packing device with respect to the cylinder.

The sealing rubber compound band (9 and I3 in Figure 1, 9' and I 3 in Figure 2) may, of course, beplaced in a' position different from that de scribed and shown in the drawing. As analternative, the groove intended toreceive this band, insteadof being located in the wall o'f the cap or of the packing device, respectively, may be located in the wall of the cylinder. In certain cases, it may even be of advantage to provide a groove in. either` of the two parts to be joined together, i. e., as well in the cap as in the outer wallof the cylinder and in the inner wall of the cylinder as well as in the packing device. 'I'hese grooves may be so disposed as to face each other when the device is assembled and may both receive a rubber compound band. As soon as the two bands come into contact with oil, they willv expand towards each other and insure tightness. g

Figure 3 shows groove 8 and band 9, modied in accordance with the explanations of the foregoing paragraph. Groove 8 is now located partly in cap 4, as shown at 8a, and partly in cylinder I, as shown at 8b. Rubber compound band 9 is split in two and the portion 9a is inserted into groove 8a and the other portion, 9b, into groove 8b.

A further advantageous modiiicationis 'shown in Figure 4. In this figure, part of groove 8 is formedv in cap 4, as shown at'8c, while a plu- -rality of grooves 8d` of smaller section is formed in the portion of cylinder I facing groove 8c. Only one rubber compound band 9c is employed and inserted into groove 8c. When in contact with oil, band 9c will expand and engage groove 8d. The resulting tongue and nut structure will enhance tightness and oier a certain mechanical resistance to lateral displacements.

'I'he required dimensions for the snap ring are well known and depend upon the contemplated pressure and the nature of the materials employed The radial dimensions must be sufllcient to avoid any skidding and consequently a thickness varying between approximately 1A to a few millimeters may besuillcient. The axial dimensions depend upon the resistance of the materials employed to shearing stresses and if high grade steel be employed a width of 1 m. m. may be suiil.. cient to withstand a pressure of several tons per square inch.

An optional modicationis shown in Figure 1 at I8 and I9. If it is desired that the unit can be 'dismounted without cutting the cylinder. then it with the Wall of the cylinder.

is advantageous to provide holes traversing said cylinder at aplurality of points on its periphery at the level of the groove which receives a snap ring. These holes will permit the insertion of tools to push the snap ring out of engagement A similar hole is shown at I9 and thereis a corresponding hole in snap ring 5 and the latter is provided with screw threads. A suitable tool may be introduced through hole I9 and screwed into hole 20 in snap ring 5. With the ald of these tools, snap ring 5 may be pulled out of lengagement with groove 1,

whereupon cap 4 may be dismounted.

I have found in practice that the various synthetic rubber compounds, as Neoprene, Buna. Perbuna and others, show very irregular expansion when in contact with oil. I have found volume variations ranging from 5% to 50%. Therefore, I prefer to test a sample of the rubber compound to be selected under the conditions under which tightness is required and with a testing device in which the volume of the rubber compound and the space inwhich it is located have the same measurements as the groove and the rubber band in the contemplated device. This test will show'V whether the rubber compound selected will expand suillciently to produce the required sealing effect.

On the other hand, I have found that the expansion of the rubber compound will stop as soon as a suillcient sealing effect is produced. although the rubber compound in question may be capable of further expansion. Thus. for instance, I have frequently observed that, when a perfectly tight joint was slightly displaced, for instance, by an accident, creating a gap between the two metallic parts to be scaled together, a leak did occur but after a time further expansion of the sealing rubber compound closed it and resealed the two metallic parts tightly.

While I -have described and illustrated practical embodiments of my invention, the latter extends to any changes or modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. Oil-tight joint for sealing two cylindrical surfaces, which comprises two annularA grooves, one in each of said surfaces and an annular rubber compound packing member inside both said4 grooves, said packing members being when first applied too small with respect to said grooves and subjected to insufficient pressure to insure tightness and being capable of expanding when in contact with oil.

2. Oil-tight joint according to claim 1, in which the'sald two grooves are opposite each other when the said two surfaces are assembled in their correct position.

3. Oil-tight joint for sealing two cylindrical surfaces, which comprises an annular groove in one of said surfaces and an annularrubber compound packing member inside said groove and a plurality of grooves of smaller section in a portion of said other sur-face facing the i'lrst mentioned groove when both surfaces are assembled in their correct position, said packing member being when first applied too small with respect to said grooves and subjected to insutllcient pressure to insure tightness and being capable of expanding when in contact with oil.

JEAN MERCIER. 

